“MaXXXine” is the star-studded conclusion to Ti West’s “X” horror film trilogy, a thrilling and thought-provoking tale of the tragedy and depravity of the pursuit of fame, particularly through the female experience.

Starring Mia Goth, “MaXXXine” is a gripping watch as a standalone film. However, as part of a whole, it does not quite live up to its predecessors, “X” and “Pearl,” both released in 2022.

The hour and 41 minutes-long flick follows Goth as Maxine Minx, adult film star, aspiring actress and final girl of “X,” as she is finally getting her break — the one that will make her the “f–cking movie star,” she tells herself in the mirror.

However, a serial killer targeting her fellow actresses and adult performers threatens to reveal her past, including her connection to deaths at a Texas farm where reels of an adult film she starred in turned up.

In an attempt to ground the narrative in reality, the killer is called the Night Stalker and the killings are contextualized with news footage covering the real Night Stalker, Richard Ramirez, who terrorized Los Angeles between 1984 and 1985.

Given the in-movie killer’s real identity, this choice is puzzling, because similar choices to ground “X” and “Pearl” were not made. 

The “X” trilogy centers around issues at the darker depths of humanity: desire, fame, morality, religion and sex and its commodification. 

Subversive issues do not need to be noticeable to be impactful if they are addressed in creative and compelling ways, which West has been successful at thus far. It is disappointing to see “MaXXXine” falter in that respect.

At the same time, Goth’s stunning performance as the titular character makes up for the film’s narrative weaknesses. The 5’10” actress towers even taller in Minx’s signature stiletto boots, which she uses at one point to crush the testicles of a man who corners her in an alley, a ghoulishly funny scene to watch.

Minx is cool, stoic and single-minded, which Goth channels expertly with sparse inflection, a powerful gaze and a fast-paced walk, often ending with the slamming door of her convertible before she speeds off onto a busy L.A. street.

Other standout performances include Giancarlo Esposito as Minx’s dedicated and comedic agent and lawyer Teddy Knight, Kevin Bacon as John Labat, the greasy and vengeful private detective pursuing Minx, and Elizabeth Debicki as the ambitious and stoic director Elizabeth Bender, the one person who seems to intimidate Minx.

The one outright bad performance is quite short: Halsey as Minx’s fellow adult performer Tabby Martin. Halsey’s acting struggles overshadowed the character being portrayed.

It is hard to remember a single thing Martin said because of Halsey’s awful East Coast accent. Her presence in this film serves more as celebrity eye candy than a substantive character, but perhaps that is why her performance duration is so short.

“MaXXXine” is the latest addition to A24’s oeuvre of thought-provoking horror films. Suspense is timely and balanced and the gore is experimental, but not gratuitous if you know what to expect by now.

What is more, “MaXXXine” and the “X” trilogy tap into the ultimate cultural subversion: a horror film about sex.

Parallels can be drawn between the 1980s and today with rising conservatism, immense inflation and moral panics running amok. It makes sense that a story about an adult film star running from an evangelical past and chasing fame is so resonant today — it gets at the darker parts of humanity that surround us which we are trying to shield our eyes from.

Maxine Minx is a unique final girl because she not only demands that it be her but knows that it will be. Her desire defines her identity, personality and actions, which allows her to cheat death time and time again.

Her mantra, instilled in her by her highly influential evangelical pastor father, is “I will not accept a life I do not deserve.”

It is a powerful phrase — one that is easy to leave the movie with on-repeat in your head. It also makes it harder to accept this middle-of-the-road conclusion that the “X” trilogy deserved more from.